Half Palestinian population need humanitarian help

The UN said in a report that Palestinian socioeconomic development has suffered one of its worst years since 1994. 

The report published Thursday by the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), said that almost half of the Palestinian population requires humanitarian aid, with the protracted humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The PA [Palestinian Authority] and the Palestinian people have been hit hard in 2020, with more than half the population in need, but I’m hopeful that donors will step up and provide much needed support,” said Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland.

It describes 2020 as a year of setbacks for Palestinians, their institutions and their economy due to the pandemic and an unprecedented fiscal crisis.

It adds that around 150,000 Palestinians lost jobs during the first lockdown last spring, and large negative effects are expected from the current lockdown.

Wennesland said: “As of early February, vaccines have also begun arriving in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and, through the efforts of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the UN is supporting the Palestinian Government’s preparedness to receive and administer vaccines, including through the global COVAX-AMC facility.”